A Central Valley suburb with unique attractions like a biweekly market and an aircraft museum
The city of Atwater, home to approximately 32,000 residents, is just a few miles west of Merced. The area was once known for agriculture and still has the popular Hunter Farms and Joseph Farms, but as the city continues to develop, some rural parts are disappearing. “The farms are moving out of the area a bit and going farther away,” says Realtor Norma Lopez, who works with Keller Williams Property Team and has over a decade of experience in the area. Most of Atwater is a highly developed suburb full of subdivisions of houses. There are strip malls and family-friendly parks scattered throughout the town, but there are some special attractions here as well, like an aviation museum and a flea market that happens twice a week.
Atwater Flea and Farmers Market is open every Thursday and Saturdays in Atwater.
Atwater is the home of the Castle Air Museum.
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Bungalows, midcentury ranch-style homes and new construction in Atwater
The town is roughly broken down into three areas: downtown, the residential areas north of downtown and the area south of California Route 99. Downtown sits directly north of 99 and is comprised of grid-style blocks of homes mostly built in the 1910s and '20s. Just to the north of downtown, the blocks become looser, and some become winding subdivisions. There’s an industrial area and a large strip mall south of 99. Atwater's median sales price is about $420,000, but prices can vary fairly widely depending on the area of town. An older bungalow downtown might come in around $300,000, but a ranch-style home north of downtown can reach $450,000. A more recently built home in these same subdivisions could cost $650,000. Finally, coming in at the top of the price range, are gated HOA communities also in this northern section; homes here can cost a million dollars or more. On average, homes stay on the market for 35 days in contrast to the national average of 44 days.
Beautifully landscaped homes are found through out Atwater.
Bungalow style homes in Atwater offer a quaint atmosphere.
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The Atwater Flea & Farmers Market and the Castle Air Museum
One of the city’s main attractions is the Atwater Flea & Farmers Market, located on the west side of town. Every week on Thursday and Sunday, over 3,000 residents check out food trucks and vendors selling fresh produce and clothing. The Castle Air Museum, located on the northern edge of Atwater, features aircrafts from World War II, the Korean War and the Cold War. A few times a year, the museum has Open Cockpit Day, when visitors are allowed to go inside the aircraft on display; these days are very popular with Atwater residents.
Produce from Atwater growers is found at the Atwater Flea and Farmers Market.
The Castle Air Museum in Atwater holds an annual family air show.
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Veteran's Memorial Park, Osborn Park and a future bike path
Atwater has family-friendly municipal parks throughout the city, and one of the most popular is Veteran's Memorial Park in the northern part of Atwater. It features a splash pad, a playground and a picnic pavilion that many residents use for events like family reunions and birthday parties. Also located in the northern part of town, Osborn Park is a local gathering spot, with Little League games and an adult softball league. More athletes use the park’s tennis courts and skatepark. The city will have more recreation with the Atwater-Merced Bikeway. It will take around 30 years to build since the city is prioritizing the Atwater-Merced Expressway project, which will alter Bellevue Road, where much of the bikeway will be. “They have a route plan from Atwater to the University of California Merced,” Lopez says. Another route will go along Sante Fe Drive. As a place with mild winters, Atwater locals can use parks throughout much of the year, but it is an area with severe heat risk. During excessive heat periods, Atwater and all of Merced County use the California government's Office of Emergency Services Contingency Plan.
Osborn Park in Atwater offers tennis, skate park and baseball fields for you to enjoy.
Plenty of activities for the children at Osborn Park near Atwater.
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Atwater City Elementary School District and more education
The community is served by the Atwater City Elementary School District, which earns a B-minus rating on Niche. It has a B-plus rating for administration and a B for teachers. Serving around 5,000 students from kindergarten through eighth grade, the district’s student-teacher ratio is 23-to-1. After middle school, the city is served by the Merced Union High School District, which has a B-plus rating. Most students in Atwater go to Atwater High School. For higher education close by, there’s the University of California Merced and Merced College, a community college.
McSwain Elementary School educates grades K-8 in the Atwater area.
Buhach Colony High School educates grades 9-12 in Atwater.
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Shopping on Bellevue Road and in the Applegate Ranch Shopping Center
Atwater has a bevy of retail and strip malls on Bellevue Road in the northern part of town. These include the Atwater Town Center Shopping Center and the Atwater Plaza Shopping Center. One of the most popular retail areas is the Applegate Ranch Shopping Center, a big box center on Commerce Avenue in the southern part of the city. It houses a Walmart Supercenter for groceries and more well-known stores.
Applegate Ranch is one of many shopping areas in Atwater.
Atwater offers super markets grocery stores for all your grocery needs.
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Commutes to Merced and Fresno, plus more transportation
Atwater is about 10 miles west of Merced, and residents can get there via California 99, which takes around 20 minutes during rush hour. For travel to Fresno, residents can drive about 60 miles southeast via the 99, and this can take an hour or longer depending on traffic. Some residents work right in Atwater at the city’s largest employers: Joseph Farms, Dole Packaged Foods and AT&T Mobility. For public transportation, the town is served by The Bus, which is Merced’s transit system. Dignity Health Hospital - Mercy Medical Center is about 10 miles from Atwater. The closest regional airport is the Merced-Castle Airport in Atwater, just a few miles north of downtown, and the closest major airport is the Fresno Yosemite International Airport.
Crime rates in Atwater from 2022 to 2023
According to some statistics from the FBI, Atwater’s violent crime rate has increased from 96 to 114 per 100,000 people from 2022 to 2023. The property crime rate has decreased from 230 to 224. In comparison, the state of California’s violent crime rate increased from 92 to 103, while the property crime rate has decreased from 209 to 207 during this period. The police department has outreach events like the Community Q&A in the Atwater Community Center.
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Disclaimer: Certain information contained herein is derived from information provided by parties other than Homes.com. Our sources include: Accuweather, Public Records and Neustar. All information provided is deemed reliable, but is not guaranteed to be accurate and should be independently verified.
